The First Spark
by MayFairy
Summary: Pemiri was the first female Avatar to come from the Airbenders, but when unexpected events throw her life out of balance, her closest friend is someone who she at first thought an enemy. But can her eventual trust in him lead to more? And can they keep each other safe when a powerful force of rogue Firebenders are gathering massive amounts of strength?
1. Prologue

**To my Doctor Who readers: ...just...wait...it's coming, it seriously is! It's not my fault these damn aliens aren't cooperating with me! I blame River for all of this. **

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-ABOUT THE ACTUAL STORY-.-.-.-.-.-.-**

**Anyway, after watching way too much of ATLA, I am now writing this because the idea was really fun. This prologue deals with Pemiri finding out the big news. **

**Enjoy!**

**p.s. I've written this so that my regulars should be able to read this without having any prior knowledge of the show. :) **

* * *

_The squeals and peals of youthful laughter echoed around the grounds of the Eastern air temple as the young dark-haired girls ran around and pelted each other with wisps of air while feeling impressive. A little way off, twelve year olds were playing airball on the raised wooden posts of the airball field._

_The older students, the ones who were fifteen or older, had formed a large circle in one of the outdoor courtyards and were all hovering on balls of air. Pemiri was one of them, though she was tired and had to keep her concentration solely on the air she was floating on, or else she kept slipping sideways._

_"Pem, why are you so quiet today?" One of the other girls, Tora, asked._

_Pemiri kept her eyes shut while she replied, "I didn't get much sleep last night. If I talk, I'm going to -" Her ball of air disappeared from under her and she dropped onto the hard stone ground, landing on her butt. All the girls laughed, but not unkindly. "- do that." Tora giggled._

_"Maybe you should use this rest period for…you know…rest, if you need it," She recommended with an inclining eyebrow. _

_"I like that idea," Pemiri said with a light smirk, and jumped to her feet. Before she could head towards the stairs that would take her up to the sleeping quarters, a new and much older voice joined in the conversation._

_"Actually, Pemiri, the Council of Elders would like to speak with you, though I would be happy to escort you to your chambers afterward." Pemiri and the others whipped around to see Sister Aisa under the nearby arch, her eyes both amused and serious at the same time. Not for the first time, Pem wondered how she did it, but shook her head and decided she wouldn't try and understand the ways of the Master Airbenders, even if she almost had mastery over airbending herself._

_"Um…sure…is there something wrong?" Pemiri came over to Aisa, who merely turned away in the direction of the Council room, leaving the young airbender with no choice but to follow. "Aisa, why do they want to talk to me?"_

_"You're sixteen now…it's time you know the truth," Came the evasive reply, and Pemiri felt herself become more confused._

_"Goddamnit Aisa, that's not an answer!" She protested as they got close to the Council room. "You say the truth as if you've been telling me lies…what have you kept from me?"_

_Aisa's brown eyes held the teenager's gaze evenly as she pushed the doors open. "Go inside, and we'll tell you."_

_Pemiri frowned deeply and did as she was told, coming to kneel in front of the Sister Elders and bowing her head._

_"You may sit," Sister Iwa said kindly, and so Pemiri sat cross-legged and glanced up at the adults expectantly. "Pemiri, do you remember these?"_

_Seeing the bundled scroll being offered to her, Pemiri's hand enclosed around it. She undid the strings and let it unroll to reveal four children's toys, very familiar ones. Her confusion began to run deeper and deeper as she frowned again and looked up, her eyes fixing on Iwa._

_"Yes," She answered, "They're toys, the ones I played with when I was little. I don't see the significance."_

_"Every airbender gets to choose out of thousands of toys," Iwa said with a knowing smile that was beginning to irritate Pem just a little, "What made these ones your favourite?"_

_Pemiri blinked, annoyance beginning to build a little at all the vague answers she was getting. "How should I know? That's like asking me why I prefer raspberry cakes over blueberry cakes!"_

_Iwa ignored her statement. "Let me tell you why you chose them. Those are the four Avatar relics." Pem dropped the roll of toys as if they were scorching hot, and ducked her head at Iwa's reprimanding gaze._

_"But...I…are you sure?" Her voice was a whisper, and a frightened one at that. "I…I'm not a boy, I thought the Avatar would be from the Northern or Southern Air Temples."_

_"We all did," Aisa said, "All of the ten avatars who have come from the Air Nomads have been male. The world began to assume that it would continue to be that way. But then you selected the relics in your childhood, and we started to watch you. The stones of the temple shake when you're upset. The flames that light our lantern flare when you're angry. And you've been the best swimmer by far whenever we've taken you girls swimming."_

_Pem dropped her eyes to her hands so that she wouldn't have to look at the women in front of her. "So…you're sure? That in the whole world, I'm going to be the one who can bend all four elements?"_

_"You are the Avatar, the one to master all the elements, to keep balance in the world," Iwa said, and Pem felt her hands begin to shake. Looking at them, as if to confirm all the words hanging in the air, a tiny flame erupted from her fingertip before disappearing. She jumped a mile into the air upon seeing it, her heart racing._

_"I suppose…one of you better take me to a water tribe, then," She muttered, and with that, lost consciousness._

* * *

_Pemiri woke in her bed, and sat up immediately to see Aisa standing in the doorway. The girl groaned and lay back down in the bed._

_"Did I faint?" She looked up and saw Aisa nod ever so slightly. "Thought so."_

_"It's hardly surprising, I wouldn't take it to heart," The Sister said, and Pem frowned a little too quickly._

_"I'm not," She retorted before hugging her knees, "But it's not exactly easy to hear that you're going to become the most powerful mortal creature in the world. Especially when you've grown up listening to stories about all the other ones."_

_Sister Aisa sat down on the end of the bed and took one of Pemiri's hands. "The Avatar cycle is the most incredible thing this world has ever produced…you're part of something that goes back to the beginning of bending itself. Every past Avatar, every incarnation that's ever existed, is inside you now."_

_"I know…it's all about the cycle. Avatar Vaana came before me, and she was a firebender. The one after me will be a waterbender, and the one after that will be an earthbender, then it will come back around to fire again and just keep going."_

_"It's identical to the order of elements which the Avatar must learn," Aisa put in, and Pem nodded._

_"I know. I know air already, so for me it's water, then earth, then fire," The young airbender said, "But…" She trailed off into a sigh._

_"What's wrong?" Aisa grabbed Pem's chin and forced the girl to look into her face that was lined with age. "Tell me, Pem."_

_Pem ran her grey eyes over the older, wiser face of Sister Aisa, taking in the knowledge in the deep brown eyes and grey hair that started behind the shaven forehead, different to the younger airbenders only in its absence of the dark brown colour._

_"Air is the element of freedom," Pem said quietly, looking down at her hands, which were still shaking slightly, "I always figured that was why it came so easily to me, because I had freedom, and because I always wanted it more than anything. Now I'm the Avatar, and there's all this responsibility, and I'm not free to do what I want anymore, I have to master the other three elements instead, and keep peace, and-" She inhaled sharply and hugged her knees closer to her chest, falling silent because all her words had dried up in her throat. Aisa wordlessly wrapped her arms around the teenager comfortingly. "I'm just sixteen."_

_"They all were," Aisa said gently, "But you're ready for airbending mastery…we can be on our way to the Northern Water Tribe in less than a week."_

_"A week?" Pem tensed up before slowly relaxing as Aisa stroked her hair. "That's so soon…but wait…you're coming with me?"_

_"Yes, I'll be with you through all of it, I promise."_

_"…okay."_

* * *

**So, hope you liked it! Let me know in a review, would you? Much appreciated, thanks! **

**-MayFairy :)**


	2. When Everything Changed

**How did this chapter get this long? :P I've no idea, but I won't complain! **

**Thanks to Spirit-of-the-Rain, Mrs. 11th, and toavoidconversation for reviewing the prologue! Love you girls. *showers with hugs***

**So this chapters takes us forward three years, where the story properly started, at the end of Pemiri's waterbending training. And something huge happens at the end of the chapter which will really kick the story off. **

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

The waterbenders began to advance on the girl standing in front of them, water patiently swirling around them as it waited to be commanded. Despite the oncoming threat, the girl didn't look up, merely kept her hands together in a meditating stance while her feet were firmly planted on the icy ground.

Suddenly, the first waterbender made his move, but when the whip of water made a beeline for the girl, she leapt into the air and forced the water to part before sending it in two different streams towards two of her four opponents. After that she continued to twist through the air along with the movements of the water she was deflecting and directing.

As she thrust her arms upward, a huge coil of water wrapped around one of the waterbenders and then froze, locking him in a prison of ice.

Meanwhile, the spectators watching were discussing every move the girl made.

"She never speaks a word while she's bending."

"It shows concentration, and a lack of a need to verbally prove herself. That's a good sign."

They fell silent once more as the remaining three waterbenders closed in all at once. The girl with the long braid of brown hair merely set her mouth into a determined line, her arms working, pulling a huge wave of water and bringing it down to crash on their heads. Before they could recover, the wave separated into three, and began to lash at them in quick, painful jabs. The girl allowed herself to smile a little as her body twisted to channel the water's path, before her hands and feet shoved through the air, driving the water right into the men.

The waterbenders fell to the ground, knocked out or close enough, as the girl came to stand at ease once more, visibly tired. Her hands came together in a sign of respect, the arrowheads on each of them pointing in towards each other.

"Very good, Avatar Pemiri," The waterbending master said in congratulations. "I believe I can teach you little more."

Pemiri slowly walked forward, coming closer before bowing to him respectfully. "Thank you, Master Keltang. You have taught me a lot in the three years I have been here."

"You are ready to learn Earthbending now...though our tribe will be saddened to see you and Sister Aisa leave us," Keltang told her, and Pemiri looked up at him with a wide smile.

"We will return and visit, I promise, Master," She said earnestly, her eyes darting to Aisa, who was watching her with pride.

"I look forward to it."

* * *

Pem sighed as she packed up her clothing and belongings into a large bag that would fit on the saddle of their flying bison.

"Sad to be leaving?" Aisa asked knowledgeably from the doorway.

"This has been our home for three years...I'm going to miss it," Pem replied as she zipped up the bag and turned to face her traveling companion.

Aisa's expression became mischievous. "And of course it has nothing to do with that boy Tyson."

Pem froze and laughed despite herself, looking upon her teacher with new respect. "How do you always know everything?"

The old woman laughed as well before brushing some of the girl's hair out of her eyes. "Because I just do." Pem could feel herself being studied. Over the three years, she and Sister Aisa had been recommended to grow their hair back over their foreheads, so that they could hide their Airbender identity if needed. After all, the blue arrow tattoos that identified airbending masters were not subtle.

Aisa's fingers pushed back Pem's hair to reveal the large blue arrowhead that had been mostly hidden, and Pem did the same to her as they exchanged a smile.

"Just because they're hidden, doesn't mean they aren't there, Pem," Aisa told her wisely, and the young woman nodded. "Now, get some sleep, we're leaving for the Earth kingdom in the morning. Master Ponshi is awaiting our arrival at Omashu."

The Avatar nodded, yawning, and she crawled into her bed in the hut she shared with Aisa in the Northern Water Tribe city, knowing that it would be the last time she would do so for years.

* * *

Pemiri tied the bags and supplies to Felo, their flying bison who wore the same arrow mark on his forehead as the airbenders who rode him, and smiled thankfully when the job was done. She leant back against his warm and comforting fur and shut her eyes contently.

"Hey Pem."

The voice made her eyes snap open, and she grinned when she saw Tyson standing a few feet away, the adorable smile she loved so much on his face.

"Tyson," She said, pushing away from the bison to take a step towards him, before remembering all her responsibilities. "Hi." The boy was the same height as her, and what he lacked in physical strength he made up for with his impressive bending skills.

"You're leaving," The young man said sadly, and she nodded as she patted Felo's side.

"It was always going to happen, Tyson, we just kept pretending it wouldn't," She replied, and he sighed, clearly knowing it to be true. "But it's been fun. Really fun." Seeing his gloomy expression, she flicked a spurt of water at him, which he bended around himself and back at her, a faint smile returning to his face. "You're my water guy, that isn't going to change."

"Maybe you'll decide you like Earth guys better," He muttered, and she sent the water back at him, hitting his face playfully.

"Tyson, if mastering Earth and Fire takes me as long as mastering Water did, I'm not going to be able to come back for at least 6 years. We've got to accept that whatever we have, whatever this is, it isn't meant to be," Pemiri forced a smile at him. "There are plenty of talented and beautiful girls here. You just need to stop looking at me long enough to see them."

At that moment, Sister Aisa and Master Keltang appeared.

"It's time to go, Pemiri," Aisa said solemnly, and the young Avatar nodded before turning to the waterbending master and bowing one last time.

"Thanks again, Master Keltang," She said, and he bowed back.

"It's been an honour to teach you. And an honour to meet you both."

Aisa and Keltang bowed to each other as well before Aisa hopped up onto Felo's neck to wrap the reins of his harness, ready to steer both of them to the Earth kingdom. Pemiri looked back at Tyson, taking in his wistful eyes as they watched her. Fleetingly, she ran up to him and pressed the briefest of kisses on his lips before she pushed the air underneath her and soared into the air to land in the large saddle of the flying bison.

"You'll always be my water guy," She called out, and he smiled a little. "Find a girl who can give you a run for your money at waterbending like I can." He nodded slowly.

"Felo, yip yip!" Aisa told the bison as she flicked the reins, and the bison took off into the sky. Pem waved goodbye to Tyson until her arm hurt and then sank down onto the saddle, stretching out across the large space that was big enough to have five or six people sit in it comfortably.

She played with tiny bits of water in the air until she got bored and read water-bending scrolls instead, going over all the techniques she had mastered. The Earth kingdom would be completely different from anything she had ever known, and she had to be prepared for anything.

* * *

"Pem! Get back in the saddle, now!"

The young Avatar paid no attention to the words being spoken to her, and instead soared higher into the sky on the small red glider. A device created to emerge from a simple wooden staff, the small contraptions allowed Airbenders to manipulate the air currents underneath the glider and essentially fly with ease.

And for someone who had spent the last 2 days flying over vast ocean, there really was no better way to help pass the time. Pemiri merely smirked as Aisa tried to guilt trip her into coming down. She was having far too much fun, and with her constant need to attend to her Avatar duties, fun was something she had been missing a little.

"I'll come down, if you agree to let me take the reins while you sleep for a bit," Pem offered. She had noticed just how tired the old woman had been looking over the last couple of hours, and wanted to make sure that her only constant friend in the world was okay.

Aisa sighed, but Pem could sense a reluctant relief behind it. "Alright, Pem, you win this one. I'll sleep." The Avatar grinned triumphantly and let go of the air currents holding her, dropping down onto the saddle with a light thump that only an airbender could make. She took the reins out of Aisa's withered hands and felt pleased with herself as the Elder curled up in the large saddle and sleep peacefully.

There was something calming and tranquil about climbing over the ocean, Pem decided. The sight of nothing but water all the way until the horizon was simply so beautiful in the simplest way. She wondered what it would be like to try and bend that much water, but knew that it probably wouldn't be wise to try. One day, perhaps…

Her hand patted Felo's fur as a way of telling him what a good job he was doing, having been flying for so long. She leaned forward against his huge, furry head and closed her eyes briefly, content with the wind on her face.

"You're doing a good job, buddy, we're almost there," She said to the flying bison, who merely made a grunting noise in response.

Hours later, when Aisa had awoken and the sky was streaked with orange and pink and purple, Pem let out a yelp of excitement when she saw a shadow of land on the horizon. She kissed Felo's fur happily before turning back to grin at Aisa. The Sister looked amused and pleased by her reaction and smiled back at her student.

"Do you see that, Felo? Land! We can all sleep when we get there!" Pem told the bison as they got nearer and nearer. Within ten minutes, they were over the land and the young Avatar had steered Felo down into the woods of the Earth kingdom. Felo let out a huge grunt that sounded like a relieved sigh as he immediately lay down on the ground, asleep. Pem and Aisa shared a look before laughing at him heartily.

"He deserves all the rest he can get," The elder of the two said as they got a fire going, and Pem nodded, grinning.

"He's an incredible force of nature, that's for sure," The brunette said as she warmed herself in front of the fire, admiring the way the flames danced. Her mind wandered as she changed the subject. "I can't wait to learn firebending." She brought her hand closer and closer to the flames before snatching it back as it got too hot.

"Do you think it will come easily to you?" Aisa asked curiously in a way that made Pem think she had her own thoughts on the subject already.

"I'm not sure…air was easy, it was free and unrestrained and that's how I love to feel," Pem replied thoughtfully, "Water was hard, because it was gentle, and that's something I wasn't. I'm more so now, having mastered it, but there's a reason it took me three years. Water is the element of change. I never liked change, and I still don't. It should have come easier to me, because it was fluid, like airbending, but it just…wasn't. Fire…it's something else altogether."

"It can be destructive and impulsive," Aisa said wisely, and Pem nodded her agreement.

"And I am neither of those things. But…like water, I haven't been able to bend fire without a teacher. With earth, I can already use it a little," Pem raised her hand towards a few stones lying on the ground, and they immediately lifted into the air and began to swirl around in tandem with her rotating wrist movements. "Is that normal?"

"Some Avatars have a limited use of all four elements from the beginning, while others can only use their initial element. It's most common for there to be a block on one element, usually in the natural opposite, such as water and fire, and air and earth," Aisa explained, and then paused as she regarded her student, "But you're an unusual case. Waterbending usually comes easily to Airbenders, yet it's obvious that the element you find most natural outside the one you were born into is earth, your natural opposite. It's interesting."

Pem nodded before hesitating and lifting an eyebrow at Aisa. "How do you know all this? I always assume you know everything, but how do you?"

"Ever since we realized you were the Avatar, when you were about five, I have been studying the Avatar history so as to be able to be the best guide for you possible."

"Oh."

They fell into silence after that, and Pem's mind was consumed by the idea that her mentor had spent eleven years of her life studying and training to be her guardian, and having spent three years in the North Pole with her, was still with her. She had devoted so much of her life to see Pem become the Avatar she needed to be…and that knowledge filled the young woman with a fierce determination to not let her down.

* * *

The next day they had opted for journeying on foot so as to go easy on the bison who had been so helpful in getting to the top of the Earth Kingdom. Aisa had spent the morning walking alongside Felo with Pemiri, but as the day had gone on, her old age had weighed down on her endurance and she opted to ride in the saddle for a while.

Pem herself had left her shoes up in the saddle because she wanted to feel the warmth of the earth beneath her feet, and untied her hair from the usual long braid so that the wind could shift through it. It was a relatively new experience, as she was used to it being either tied back or partially shaven, but she was enjoying it a lot as it waved with the wind.

Something else that was very different was the warmth of the sun on her face, an experience she had dearly missed during her time at the North Pole. She pushed up the long sleeves of her water-tribe blouse as the heat got more intense, bearing the arrows that adorned each arm.

"How far is it to Omashu?" Pem asked around midday, as she munched on some of the bread Aisa had thrown down to her.

"A long way yet," Came the reply, "The Earth Kingdom is huge, if you recall. Omashu isn't too much closer to the North Pole than our Air Temple, and you remember how long _that _journey took." Pem recalled being sixteen and restless as they had been travelling up to the Northern Water Tribe. She chuckled.

"So about another week then?"

"If we do nothing but fly and are not delayed at all, but it's unlikely, as we would have to have resting days like this one to avoid wearing out Felo," Aisa admitted, and Pem shrugged passively.

"There's not a huge rush," She said calmly, "The world isn't going to end if I make it to Omashu a little bit late."

"Indeed not."

They chatted more until the sun began to set, about various topics that ranged from advanced airbending techniques to the grandeur of Ba Sing Se. Aisa swore it was the grandest city she had ever seen, but also the most presumptuous.

"Ba Sing Se, though beautiful the one time I was there, is the pure example of why we Air Nomads stray away from worldly politics and concerns and live in our temples. There is too many falsities in every possible form…do not get caught up in their web of intrigue if you are ever there, promise me, Pem."

"I promise."

A pillar of smoke became visible to them above the line of trees, and Pem eyed it with a raised eyebrow before looking up at Aisa for her verdict.

"It seems like some kind of camp, and presumably a big one judging by the amount of smoke," The Sister deducted, "We should ask if we can join them."

"Alright then," Pem said cheerfully, excited at the thought of meeting Earth kingdom citizens, or even better, earthbenders. "Let's hope they're friendly."

The two airbenders and the bison walked on until the camp was visible in a clearing, and Pem was surprised to see the red Fire Nation flag decorating the tents, and men and women walking around in all different shades of red. When they saw the travelers, murmurs seemed to run through the large group of at least a hundred people.

One dark-haired man stepped forward with a broad and charming smile directed at Pem. "Hello, young lady," He looked up and nodded to Aisa in acknowledgement as well, "Ma'am."

"Hi…are you all from the Fire Nation?" Pem asked as her eyes travelled around, taking in all the strange sights, making him chuckle.

"Yes, we are," He said, "We're a group of benders, actually."

Pem's eyes widened as though it was her birthday, a tiny excited squeak escaping from her mouth. "You're _all _firebenders? That's awesome!"

The man laughed again, and rubbed his refined beard thoughtfully. "To you, perhaps…to most, meeting airbenders would be far more exciting." His eyes flicked down to Pem's lower arms, where her airbender tattoos were visible for the world to see. "Though you're wearing water-tribe clothing, I've noticed."

"We have just come from the North Pole a few days ago," Aisa explained, and he nodded with obvious interest.

"Perhaps you can tell us of your travels over dinner? If you want to join us, that is?" He looked at them expectantly, and Pem bit back the automatic acceptance sitting on her tongue and obediently looked to Aisa, who nodded with a smile, almost as eager as she was. "Excellent. I'm Zolin."

"I'm Pemiri," The Avatar said with a grin.

"Aisa," The Sister added for herself as she airbended her way off the saddle and to the ground. "Thank you very much for letting us eat with you, we appreciate it."

"Anything for fellow travelers," Zolin said casually, beckoning them to sit down amongst the others around one of the campfires, offering them bowls of hot food, meat and noodle soup, that both women accepted gratefully.

"The food is very good," Pem praised as she ate the last bit of it from her bowl.

"Thank you," Zolin smiled, "So where are the two of you headed?"

Aisa paused to swallow her food before replying, "Omashu. We're hoping to visit the Earthbending Master Ponshi."

"You seem to be getting around," He commented, "Probably originating from an air temple, then to the North Pole, and now to Omashu. Planning on going to the Fire Nation at all?"

Pem nodded. "Hopefully…but we'll be in the Earth kingdom a while…we've been in the North Pole for three years, so it's sort of nice to be somewhere new."

"And you plan on staying here for that long?" Zolin asked, and Pem tried to identify what was behind his tone. Was it surprise? Suspicion? Plain curiosity? She frowned and sucked on one of her chopsticks absently.

"Well, it will depend on how long it takes for me to learn earth-" The young woman suddenly trailed off after receiving a strangely worried look from Aisa, and just shot back a questioning one only for her mentor to ignore her. Pem had already said enough, however.

"Earthbending?" Zolin guessed, and Pem realized it would be fruitless to deny it considering how obvious it was. She nodded. "You're the Avatar, aren't you?" Another nod. "That explains a lot…why you've gone from an air temple to a water tribe to the Earth Kingdom."

"People have been wondering where the hell you've been," Another firebender put in, a tough-looking middle aged woman sitting next to Zolin.

"She's been doing her duty and learning waterbending," Aisa said in an almost defensive tone, "If they want to judge the Avatar on how she does things, they can have a go at bending all four elements themselves."

"Indeed," Zolin said with a small smile, but Pem could see a tiny spark of something that looked like disagreement in his eyes. Confused, she stood up from the campfire.

"To be honest, we've been walking all day and could use some sleep. Could we keep our bison here? We sleep in his saddle," She requested, and Zolin's eyes were immediately warm as he smiled graciously.

"Of course, consider yourself excused," He stretched out his arm in invitation, "We can always talk more in the morning."

Aisa and Pemiri both nodded in thanks before crossing the clearing to Felo and climbing into the saddle. They took out the sleeping bags and curled up in the expansive saddle, watching each other.

"Should I not have told them that I'm the Avatar?" Pem's voice was quiet and on the verge of guilty, and Aisa took a while to reply, as if trying to be delicate.

"We just have to be careful, Pem," She sighed, "Some people dislike the Avatar, and some people dislike airbenders. You're both."

"Why? The disliking, I mean, I don't understand why they would."

"Because we isolate ourselves to live a more spiritual and peaceful life…some people believe that we think ourselves better than the other nations," Aisa's answer made Pem frown deeply. Airbenders believing themselves superior? The notion was so ridiculous…

"But what about the Avatar? Why don't people like the Avatar?" The question was even more personal than the one about airbenders for Pem, and she felt a large amount of hurt settle inside her at the idea of people not liking her without even meeting her.

Aisa again didn't answer immediately. "Most people do, they love the Avatar, because you're a symbol of hope and peace and everything we want to maintain in this world. But…"

"But some people aren't like that."

"Some people don't want one person to be that powerful. Others, because of the reincarnation cycle, hold a previous wrong done by one Avatar against the current one…"

"That's ridiculous." Pem scowled, feeling insulted by the very idea of it, suddenly grumpy and irritated. She turned away from Aisa and shut her eyes before drifting off into a peaceful and dreamless sleep that eased her slightly troubled mind.

* * *

Upon waking, the first thing Pem became aware of was that she was not in the same place she had fallen asleep in. The second was that her hands were bound together, as were her feet.

Her eyes snapped open to take in the interior of one of the Fire Nation tents, and a glance to the left saw Aisa in the same predicament. Anger and betrayal began to surge through the young Avatar's blood, and she yelled out at the top of her lungs.

"Zolin!"

Within a minute, the firebender strode through the door with a cruel smirk on his face. He took in the completely restrained positions of the airbenders and Pem could see the obvious satisfaction in his eyes.

"I imagine you are wondering about the change of hospitality, so allow me to enlighten you," Zolin said, "We're an elite group, firebenders who know just how much power we hold. Firebenders are the most powerful people in this world, and if every firebender realized it, we could conquer the rest of you easily. Imagine, Avatar Pemiri…a world ruled by fire…imagine how glorious it would be."

Pemiri felt her heart fill with disgust and fear. Was that was this man and his followers wanted to do? Conquer the other nations and have complete power? People would die in the process, innocent people, and if she had any say about it, she wouldn't let that happen.

"You make me sick," She spat, "No form of bending is more powerful than another, it depends on how it is used and the bender using it. We were all created equally, and are meant to live as such."

Zolin scowled. "You're one to talk about equality, as the most potentially powerful person alive…but you see, that's the whole point of this-" He gestured to her bonds, "-our plans don't exactly agree with your Avatar ideals of peace and equality. Which is why you're now our prisoner. You and your teacher."

"If you touch one hair on her head," Pem said with dangerous calm, "I will hurt you." Aisa looked a little troubled by her words, being a airbender raised by the ideals of pacifism.

"We'll see," Zolin smirked again and turned to go. Pem jumped into the air despite her tied limbs and used her bound hands to thrust forward, the burst of air knocking him to the ground. That was something no one realized; even a restrained airbender is a dangerous one.

"Pem, no-" Aisa cried out, but it was too late. Zolin was already on his feet, his eyes alight with a delighted fury as if he had hoped she would give him an excuse to attack. A savage flame sprung from the air towards Pem and she dodged it, all the while searching for something to cut the rope on.

But then he shot two blasts at her at once, and dodging one resulted in her jumping into the path of the other. Pem hit the ground as the intense burning pain travelled across her left arm, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Aisa also attempt to fight back, but Zolin knocked her out with a single punch and carried the old woman out of the tent. Pem groaned and spied a scythe in the very corner. She hopped over to it and cut her bonds before taking a deep breath to prepare herself for the battle now mere meters away.

This wasn't like training. It wasn't a practice, where no one intended to hurt her much. These people would kill her without blinking, and worse, they would kill Aisa with even less hesitation. And no amount of calming breaths would make her ready.

Pemiri sprung from the tent, and found herself suddenly under assault from so many different sources of firebending she didn't know where to look. She threw up an air shield which kept her safe, mostly, and her eyes found Aisa, on the ground and slowly waking up. Pem tried to get to her while also attacking the firebenders, but it was difficult to do both. She wasn't used to defending against the style of bending the firebenders used, and cried out in pain when the fire scorched her skin in at least ten different places. Before she could get to Aisa, though, she heard someone call her name, and whipped around to see Zolin leering at her with what looked like premature triumph. She wanted to wipe him out, but the pain coursing through her body as the fire she couldn't properly fend off hit her over and over.

"Now, Avatar, you'll see that we can take we want, when we want," He yelled, and Pem watched with wide eyes as he manipulated a huge wave of fire around him. She shifted her feet, swirling the wind around her and getting ready to fight off the blast, but didn't anticipate the most crucial aspect of the move until after he had released the fire from his control.

He wasn't aiming for her.

The wall of fire skimmed through the air with a deafening roar and hit Aisa before Pem could get anywhere near her. The old woman's cry rang through the night before it was suddenly silenced, and her body fell to the ground, limp and broken.

Time seemed to stop then. Pem couldn't tear her eyes away as the fire licked over the body of her one constant friend, burning and scorching, until the corpse was barely recognizable as the airbender it had been less than ten seconds previously. A noise tore through the air, a horrible broken chord that was so dissonant it made Pem want to cover her ears and scream. But then she realized that her mouth was already open, already screaming…that she was the source of the anguished cry.

They had killed Aisa. The thought circulated as some of the grief turned to fury, and the firebenders watched in horror as the girl's eyes and tattoos began to glow with an eerie pale blue light.

"She's entering the Avatar state!" Someone cried, "Retreat, she'll kill all of us!"

Most were wise enough to follow the instructions, Zolin among them, but others stayed, determined to try and bring down the Avatar who was now encompassed by a globe of energy as her feet lifted off the ground.

"You killed my teacher," Pemiri said with thunderous power, and forty voices echoed her words as every past Avatar spoke with her, "Nothing can bring her back and for that you will suffer. You will burn as she did!"

Her hands lifted and she borrowed the powers of the past Avatars to bend fire towards the thirty people standing in front of her. Her smoldering ball of flame expanded and stretched with unbearable heat until every firebender around her dropped to the ground, dead before they could defend themselves.

The light began to slowly fade from Pemiri's eyes and tattoos as she came back to earth, but being in the Avatar state had exhausted her completely, and she crumbled to the ground instantly, her body covered in burnt scars and her broken heart aching painfully even in her state of unconsciousness.

She was the only person left alive in the camp, the one living among the dead.

* * *

***hides under bed* Yes, I know, I killed Aisa, I'm sorry! But it was necessary to spur on the plot, and Pem's character. Sorry again. And we will be seeing Zolin again, I guarantee. **

**Now, reviews, per chance? :D **

**-MayFairy :) **


	3. Getting Moving Again

**I have no idea why I love writing this story so much, but I do, so...yeah. **

**Pem is just such fun to play with, even though the main secondary character has yet to make an appearance. We get two pretty cool healer chicks in this chapter, and then we'll have a slightly crazy, hopefully funny, rather aggressive Earthbending master and after that, well...you'll have to wait and see. ;)**

**Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter: Mrs. 11th and ZackAtack96! **

**You two are awesome...toavoidconversation and Spirit-of-the-Rain seem to have disappeared off somewhere, but no doubt they shall pop up again. XD **

**So here is a kind of angsty chapter that kicks Pem's put into recovery mode, so to speak. Enjoy! **

* * *

Pem's dreams made no sense. She was running through a fire, trying to get to Aisa, who was at the centre. But the flames were too strong, knocking her backwards constantly. She tried to firebend them away, but everytime she tried, they wouldn't budge at all. It was as if they were taunting her, teasing her that she couldn't control fire yet. But Aisa's scream ran through her ears, and before she could act the fire began to burn her own skin, her hair, everything...until she knew nothing but pain, and looked around to see dozens of dead bodies.

Amongst all of it, a strange voice called to her.

* * *

The first thing Pemiri was aware of was the heaviness of her body and the tiny bursts of scorching pain that hit her. Her eyes flickered open slowly and the initial blur of her vision cleared some to reveal a middle-aged woman kneeling next to her.

"Who...where..."

Words were hard to form and the woman did not seem surprised, on the contrary, she gently placed a finger to the girl's lips to silence her.

"You're not strong enough yet," She said, "You are safe, you are in my home and workshop. I'm a herbal healer and my name is Maua."

Pem let her head fall back against whatever it was she was leaning on. She tried to nod her understanding but it was too much effort and she found herself succumbing to the soothing temptation of sleep.

* * *

For the next five days, Pem slipped in and out of consciousness, managing to speak very short sentences to Maua during the time she was awake. Sometimes in the distance of her limited vision she would spy another woman, one who appeared to be young, about Pem's age.

On the sixth day when she woke, Pem did not feel sleepy, just generally weak, and slowly sat up from the soft bed of heather she was lying in. When Maua came in ten minutes later, Pem was experimentally wriggling her toes and stretching her muscles from sitting position, occasionally grimacing at unexpected jabs of pain.

"You seem to be feeling a little better," Maua noted as she knelt down with what looked like soup. With her brain less clouded by extreme fatigue, Pem noticed for the first time the earth kingdom clothing the woman was wearing. The truth that her brain had been refusing to remember was washing over her and she felt her hands shaking.

"You rescued me, didn't you?" From the very brief conversations she had already had with the healer, Pem had already gathered this, but she wanted to be sure.

Maia nodded slowly as she held out the bowl of soup for Pem to take in her own hands for the first time. "I found you in a camp ravaged by fire. You were surrounded by many dead, all with burns like your own, only much worse. All fire nation, except for one."

"Aisa," The girl whispered, "My mentor."

"The old Airbender woman," Maua said as she nodded, her eyes full of empathy, "I wanted to help her, but she was far past anything I could have done, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for not being able to raise the dead," Pem replied, but tears ran down her cheeks silently and dripped into the soup on her lap.

Clearly not knowing what to say, Maua got up to leave after patting the young Avatar's hand comfortingly. "I'll leave you alone for a while."

Pemiri felt what little resolve she had been clinging to dissolve and she wept bitterly into her hands, feeling guilty that Aisa had given so much of her life for her, only to have it taken completely while Pem had made it out. Not completely unscathed, but alive at least, something that Aisa was not.

When the tears subsided along with the initial weight of the guilt, Pem sniffed loudly several times before gulping down her soup, which was now a little salty and lukewarm. Maua returned after a time and brought the young woman who Pem had guessed was her daughter, and when Maua introduced her, Pem found she had been correct in her assumption about the eighteen year old named Luma.

"If you're feeling up to walking, I would be happy to help you," Luma offered enthusiastically, and Pem immediately brightened at the thought.

"Oh, yes please! Could we go for a walk now?" She asked eagerly, and Luma nodded, entwining their hands.

"If we can get you up, then yes," Luma's eyes were kind and excited from underneath the strands of black hair that had fallen into her face, "One, two, three!"

Pem used her sore muscles along with Luma's pulling to propell herself forward and up, airbending the currents beneath her at the same time. Feeling the solid earth under her feet was comforting, and Pem closed her eyes for a moment before taking a shaky step forward.

"I think I'm okay," She told the two Earth Kingdom females, "But my injuries don't feel too good, they seem quite extensive..." Luma shared a look with her mother and slid her arm through Pem's.

"We'll go down to the river and I'll show you," The younger girl said softly, "But prepare yourself...it's not...they are not light burns. Many are forming scars that I fear will be permanent."

The airbender felt fearful anticipation rise in her chest, but she forced herself to nod calmly as they began to walk. A cool breeze passed them by as they exited the dome-like building that was Maua's healing sanctuary, and while it did not bother Pem - who was still equipped for the North Pole - she became aware for the first time of the thin white underdress which was all she was wearing.

"Where are my clothes?" Pem inquired while they very slowly came down some steps, and she winced occasionally.

"They were burnt beyond repair...sorry," Luma said, but brightened straight away, "But I got a good look at the pattern, and I'm good with clothes, I could make you new ones, if you wanted."

"Really? Oh, could you? It's just that everything that's happened, one thing not changing would be nice," Hope and gratefulness swelled in Pem's heart, growing stronger when the other girl nodded.

"Anything to help...I've never met an Airbender before," Luma admitted bashfully, her eyes slipping to Pem's bare arms and the blue airbending tattoos that covered them. The brunette rubbed her left arm absently before she noticed an angry red scar there, halfway along her upper arm, overlapping with the tattoo and turning the blue into a strange, marred purple.

"Us airbenders usually keep to ourselves, worldly politics do not concern us most days. We prefer to live where we can be free and peaceful, living a life deeply enriched by the Spirit World," Pem murmured, subconsciously echoing what Aisa had once told her, "I'm lucky to be able to be here...but unfortunate enough to have lost someone to share the experience with. Aisa, my mentor...she was my world, and already I feel so lost without her guidance."

Luma clasped Pem's hand tightly, her eyes burning with sympathy. "I admit that I have yet to experience the tragedy of a loved one's death, but I have watched patients of mine and mother's die, and it is more horrible than I can describe. But at least you are free. I am destined to stay here for my whole life, just like my mother before me and her mother before her...stretching back through hundreds of years. I do want to help people...I just wish that I could see the world first."

"I wish I could help...but unless your mother found a flying bison in the same area that she found me, I'm as stuck as you are," The airbender flicked a hopeful look at the trainee healer, only to be disappointed by her shake of the head, "I am not used to being stuck and I can feel that I am not going to like it."

Before Luma could form an answer, they reached the end of the path, coming out on the banks of a very gentle river that looked so inviting for someone as odour-drenched as Pem felt. She inched forward, still not entirely sure of her body's current limits, but the moment her toe touched the water, she felt her entire being relax. Calm she may not have been once upon a time, but she was incredibly glad for the inner peace waterbending had given her, however long and hard she had had to fight for it.

With Luma's help, Pem slipped into the water, relishing the cool sensation of the water lazily drifting past her. Swimming would have been difficult in her current state, but Pem subtly changed the water currents to her advantage.

She gazed down at her reflection and found a beaten warrior looking back curiously, but with dead eyes. Her hands darted to grab her hair, which was choppy and irregular, so different from the airbending style and different also to the traditional long hair of most females.

"Some of it had been burnt off already, other parts we had to cut out because it was ruined. I'm sorry," Luma apologized, only to be answered with a passive shrug. Pem couldn't bring herself to be too upset, because being an airbender meant that hair had never been a priority.

"I'm guessing there was no sign of a wooden staff either?" She asked as Luma shed her outer layers and came into the water as well.

"Mother brought nothing back but you and anything on your person. But it's not far from here...in a week or so when you're up to it, perhaps we can see if your belongings are still there."

"A week? Alright, I think I can manage a week. I'll meditate, that will help a lot," Pem said as she absently lifted her hand, bending a stream of water through the air and watching it with satisfaction. Behind her, she heard a gasp, and turned to see Luma staring with widened eyes.

"You're bending water!" The girl exclaimed in surprise. "But you're an airbender...but that could only work if….oh my word, you're the Avatar, aren't you?"

Pemiri nodded, and a thought occurred to her, one that was horrifying and unlikely but could explain how all those firebenders had died. "Your mother didn't see anything strange did she?"

"Well, yes, there was a mass of pale blue light, it was so bright and huge that she went to investigate to see if anyone was hurt...but you were the only one even alive," Luma said sadly, and the thought in the airbender's head was confirmed.

"I must have entered the Avatar state...I've never done that before..." She whispered, and when Luma inquired as to what the Avatar state was, explained. "The Avatar state is triggered by life-threatening danger or rehabilitating grief. I suppose for me it was both. You receive the power of every Avatar before you combined, and an Avatar still in training would be able to bend any of the elements."

"But you don't remember being in it?"

Pem shook her head. "No, but I'm fairly sure that it's normal when I don't have control over it...I could have done-" She stopped, a terrible idea occurring to her, and she trudged over to sit numbly on the cusp of the water. "Your mum said that everyone there was burnt badly, worse than me. All of the other firebenders had run away by then, and the ones remaining didn't kill themselves. I...I must have gone into the Avatar state after watching Aisa die, and used firebending to strike them all down." A fragment of memory returned to her mind, the anguished screams of the men and woman around her while she watched the fire burn them. "I killed them all."

Pemiri stared down at her slightly scarred hands with horror as she considered what they had done, what she had done. There weren't any words that could settle in her mouth properly so she said nothing for a long time. The fact that Luma didn't break the soothing silence made Pem have a lot of respect for the girl. But eventually her curiosity got the better of her.

"So my injuries...are you going to show me...tell me...?"

Luma gently took her hand and pulled her back into the water before beginning to brush her fingers against the burnt scars on Pem's body.

"Here," A long one on the underside of her left calf, "Here," A small but intense one on the side of her right thigh, "There," Her fingers pressed through the thin, wet, and practically see-through material to touch her lower back, were a thin diagonal scar sat, "But the worst is this one." A searing pain flared like a wildfire across the right side of her back, making Pem fight back a scream.

"How could I not have felt that when I was lying down?" The brunette yelped, flinching away from her companion.

"My mother gave you a herb that cancels out most pain...she didn't want you to wake up screaming," Luma explained gently, "Though it must be wearing off..."

Pemiri balked at the words. "Wearing off? As in, the pain is going to get worse?" Her question was answered by the slowly smoldering and burning agony that was growing hotter and hotter by the second. Feeling her legs begin to give out, Pem grabbed Luma's tunic as she began to fall into the water. The other girl caught her and they made their way back up to the workshop at a snail's pace.

* * *

Wincing as the strips of leaves were laid across her burn, Pemiri did her best to stay quiet while Maua tended to her, but as true physical pain was fairly new to her, the occasional hiss of pain would slip out no matter how staunch she tried to be. Exhaustion and sore muscles she could deal with, they had been a part of her life for years, but not injuries to this degree.

"You're doing a good job, my dear, we're almost done," The healer soothed while Luma kept her fellow youngster company by holding her hand.

"I am the Avatar, I refuse to let mere physical pain get the best of me," Pem answered through gritted teeth.

Maua hummed in agreement. "Well that's a good attitude, though I suppose you'll need it...to think I rescued the Avatar, now, that will be a story to tell future generations."

"Sometimes I forget how people supposedly view the Avatar...I am just a person, at least in part," Pem murmured thoughtfully.

"But aren't you also the connection between this world and the spirit world?" Luma's question made Pem want to shrug, but knowing that it would be a bad idea, she just sighed.

"I haven't learnt very much about my spiritual roles yet, because I only just mastered water-bending after three years," She said, "It was very difficult for me to waterbend, so Aisa said that I could put all of my energy into it and we would work on the spiritual side once we got to the Earth kingdom. But now..." The airbender trailed off, her voice wobbling a little with insecurity, "I do not know. We were headed for Omashu, to the earthbending Master Ponshi, but the firebenders who attacked us know that, and if they want to kill me, then going to Omashu is out. I feel...lost."

Luma gripped her hand tighter for reassurance. "At least you're not totally alone. You can stay here as long as you need."

* * *

Several weeks passed, and with each day Pem gained strength and her scars gave her less trouble, though her worst one still had a long way to go before she would be able to completely ignore it. Her bending was easier once her body was stronger, and she used it to help out Maua and Luma as best she could.

True to her word, Luma had recreated a water tribe dress for the young Avatar, complete with some slits up the side so that it wouldn't her ability to run and make the movements necessary for bending.

But one morning, Pem had woken with a determination to return to the scene of the attack, to look for possessions left behind, and hopefully Felo, the sky bison she sorely missed.

"Luma, you don't have to come with me, it's fine," The airbender insisted for the third time, but the girl was having none of it.

"I'm coming with you, you could use the company and another set of eyes, now shush and let's go."

The walk took them half an hour, and Pem couldn't help but be impressed and thankful that Maua had been able to carry her so far. Their speech was minimal, as Pem couldn't think of anything to talk about that was more important than concentrating on the panic threatening to consume her. With deep breaths, the Avatar remained calm.

Eventually they reached the clearing still adorned by Fire Nation tents and flags. The sight made Pem feel nauseous, a strange repulsion for firebending having settled in her stomach. The dead bodies were still there, and were no longer fresh, but gruesomely decomposed with a terrible smell to boot.

"Oh spirits, that's disgusting," Luma cried as she immediately blocked her nose.

Pem followed suit, averting her eyes from the still rather fleshy skeletons – and making sure she didn't glimpse the one that would be Aisa's - and focusing on the place where Felo had been sleeping. Unsurprisingly, the sky bison wasn't there, but Pem couldn't help the amount of disappointment that hit her regardless.

"He's not here, and he had all of our luggage," She informed Luma as the apprentice healer came over and shook her head slightly.

"But is that a saddlebag?" Following her pointed finger, Pem's eyes fell on a small and familiar saddlebag lying on the untouched grass, out of the fire's range. She immediately ran to it, sifting through the wonderful contents that seemed like her only connections to what her life had been weeks before. They were mostly small things, a water gourd, a pair of flint stones, a few hair ribbons, and best of all, a bison whistle.

Not noticing Luma spotting something and wandering off, Pem blew into it excitedly before tilting her head up to the bright sky. Despite what she could irrationally hope for, Felo didn't appear, nor did he the next five times she tried blowing the whistle. After sighing again, she packed up the bag and let the straps sit in elbow as she carried it over to where Luma had found something else she had been missing.

"My airbending staff!" Pem exclaimed as her face lit up, and Luma passed it to her with a smile. "Well, airbending staff slash glider." With a flick of the wrist, the extra supports and fabric came out of the central staff, immediately becoming the glider she was so familiar with.

"That's impressive!" Luma beamed. "Can you fly with that?"

"We bend the air currents underneath the glider, so essentially, yes," Passing the saddlebag to Luma, Pem stopped only to snag the bison whistle before preparing to takeoff on the glider. "Look, I'll meet you back at your workshop, but I have to look for Felo. I'll be back though, I promise."

With that, Pem jumped into the air, and after wincing a little, took off into the sky. The much missed feeling of air running through her hair made her grin before she put the whistle to her lips and blew as hard as he could. She tried it again, using her airbending to force more air through the whistle, though no sound came out. Or rather, none that was audible to her ears, but she knew that if Felo wasn't too far away, he would be able to hear it.

The search lasted for hours, and the midday sun scorched her skin until the afternoon came, and Pem's strength was plummeting with every minute, so much that the glider dipped every couple of minutes whenever her bending weakened. But she was determined to not give in. Just when she reaffirmed this in her mind for the sixth time, a familiar shape appeared on the horizon.

"Felo!" The girl cried with unabandoned joy, and the sky bison roared in a similarly affectionate way, and within a minute they were together and she had leapt onto his head. Burying her face into his fur, Pem felt his body warmth seep into her skin and his presence calm her troubled heart. "I've missed you so much, boy." After all, sky bisons were companions for life, so being parted was hard for both the airbender and the sky bison, so she knew that Felo had missed her as much as she had him.

Felo let out a long, drawn-out grunt full of contentment. Pem smiled at the sound and shifted so that she was sitting on his neck, and grabbed the reins.

"Come on, buddy, I want you to meet my friends," She told him, "Because you saw the battle, Aisa's gone now," Felo let out a moan of grief at her words and she fought back her own tears as she soothingly patted his head, "I know, it's just us two now...but these people saved me and I think you'll like them."

The two creatures of air soared through the sky, both feeling more complete for having each other.

* * *

"Are you sure that you have to leave? Are you ready to?"

Pem just smiled at Maua's nervous enquiries and just patted the older woman's shoulder. "I am, thanks to you. I'll always be in your debt. But if this Earthbending master you've told me of is as close as you say, I have to ask him to teach me because Earthbending is my only sure way forward. But thank you again, I owe you both my life." She hugged Maua and made her way over to Felo to check that all the supplies were firmly attached in the rim of the saddle, which would be carrying no passengers for a while.

Once they were out of Maua's earshot, Luma opened her mouth to speak but Pem clamped her palm over the girl's lips before she could say anything.

"I can't take you with me," Luma immediately looked disappointed, but Pem shook her head, "I don't have time to take you to an exciting city, my only destination is this valley where you say this nomad lives, because that's going to be my life for a couple of years now. And unfortunately someone like you just can't fit into it. And after everything your mother has done for you, how can you leave her when you're all she has? And after she saved my life, how could I take you from her?"

"You're right," Luma said quietly in realization, and let go of Felo's fur. "My place is here, for now at least."

Pem nodded and jumped into the air to land at Felo's reins. "Exactly. Thank you both. Goodbye." Just as she was about to take off, Luma smiled at her with an air of admiration.

"Pem..."

"Yeah?"

Luma grinned. "You're going to be a great Avatar."

Surprised, Pem felt the compliment warm her heart and a smile broke free onto her face. "I really hope so," She answered, "Felo, yip yip!" With that, the sky bison took off into the sky with a roar of triumphant and the airbender on his back waved until they were out of sight.

An hour or so later, Pem leant back against Felo's fur as she watched the sun set and admired the gorgeous collars ravaging the sky.

"It's just you and me now, Felo...but let's see if this Master Kamar will teach me Earthbending, shall we?"

* * *

**Hope you liked it, flick a review my way even if you didn't, that would be awesome! **

**-MayFairy :)**


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